


Infinite Sea

by HereForTheFic



Category: Lost Voices Series - Sarah Porter, 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Angst, Everyone's super OC and I'm so sorry, Fluff, Great title amirite, I honestly don't know where I'm going with this but I need to get it off my chest, M/M, Mermaids, Singing but no words, Slow Burn, Yes someone dies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-28 08:20:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11413938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HereForTheFic/pseuds/HereForTheFic
Summary: What happens to the boys and girls nobody sees—the ones who are ignored, mistreated, and hidden away? The ones nobody hears when they cry for help?Dazai Osamu is one of those few. After he tumbles to the icy, churning waves below the edge of a cliff, he expects nothing but the sweet release of death. Instead, he undergoes a terrifying yet thrilling transformation, and a tribe of mermaids finds Dazai and welcomes him in once their leader announces his connection to him. All of them are like him, lost boys and girls who surrendered their humanity in the darkest moments of their lives. The mermaids are beautiful, free, and ageless, and Dazai becomes interested in his new life until he discovers the catch: they feel an uncontrollable desire to drown seafarers, using their enchanted voices to lure ships into the rocks.





	Infinite Sea

**Author's Note:**

> Hello~!
> 
> Ah, this is my second fic overall and first in this fandom! So exciting!!
> 
> First off, I just wanted to say that I feel a bit nervous starting this, knowing that I need to finish up my other one and probably not going to be able to because of this stupid writers block T-T
> 
> I was hoping to be able to get rid of it by writing this one and continuing on with the other one but my main focus may shift to this one depending on how I like the structure and way this fic is going.
> 
> Ahh, too many run on sentences, I apologize. More info at the end notes then!
> 
> I hope you enjoy! <3

"Dazai. Oi, Dazai! Did you even hear the damned question I asked?"

He didn't. Dazai had been too busy staring outside the dirty windows, watching the sky darken and settle into a gray mist that had dropped upon the school earlier in the morning. He gazed out dully at the vast black sea ahead of him, watching uninterestedly as floating pieces of ice vanished and reappeared at a moments notice.

"Oi, Dazai!"

That brought him back to his senses.

The teacher's voice violently jolted him back to the bland, white classroom. Rebuilt and repainted over and over again, its flickering lights the only indication that the school was far older than those who worked there and possibly haunted by the kids who committed suicide in previous years. When he turned his head around to acknowledge the vile being, noticing with dismay that half the classroom had already turned their attention on him, he saw Ryurou Hirotsu looking at him expectantly, as if he already knew the answer.

"Dazai, page 211 problem 3b. What's the answer?"

Looking down at his paper, Dazai stared blankly at it and lifted his shoulders in a shrug. Dazai knew the answer, of course. Any 3rd grader smart enough to read could easily solve the problem and explain, in detail, the answer to the old man. The problem wasn't about whether or not he could say it in front of the whole class, it was deciding whether or not to stick his tongue out and scream "bloody murder".

"Well?"

"No one in this hell hole knows the answer except you, sir." Dazai replied calmly, fixing his face into a smug smile.

As expected, the class erupted in a fit of giggles, one going so far as to fall off his chair, laughing hysterically. Hirotsu's face dropped to a frown, shaking his head in a way that suggested annoyance and defeat as he waved a hand to silence the classroom, turned his back around and worked out the problem on the board.

A few minutes later, the bell rang, signaling the end of class and the start of lunch.

Ducking his head down low and pretending not to see Hirotsu wave him over, Dazai made his way through the crowd of teens and left the classroom. As he exited, he spotted Kunikida and Atsushi a few paces ahead of him. He lifted his hand to wave them over and smiled cheerfully. Dazai had met Kunikida on the last day of 8th grade. All Dazai knew about him was that he was a transfer student from god-knows-where and how easily he was to annoy. Behind him was Atsushi, a lone orphan recently adopted by Yukichi Fukuzawa and his son Ranpo Edogawa, shyly following him around.

As the three of them made their way down to the cafeteria, Dazai droned on and on about how boring classes were and Kunikida nearly made 3 fatal blows to the male because of how carefree he was acting. Atsushi had gone off with each of the boy's lunch money to go pay for their meal, coming back five minutes later to give them their change and lunches.

"But Kuniiiikiiidaaa, he was sooooo meeeeaaaann! I was just pointing out a fact and he just gave me a damn detention slip! He even threatened to call home if I acted up again!" Dazai whined. His head sagging and his face showed off his fake sad puppy-dog eyes.

"Don't worry, Dazai! I'm sure he didn't mean it! Maybe he'll forget all about it if you behave for long enough!" Atsushi said, smiling apologetically but hope bouncing brightly off his adorable face. Ahh, the pure innocent soul he was. Too good for this world but in it nonetheless.

"Even so, Atsushi, there's always a reason why teachers do things." Kunikida scolded. Atsushi looked down, embarrassed, and continued to eat his lunch.

Dazai smiled at the poor boy and moved on to complain about a different subject.

All of the sudden, a loud clap of thunder ripped through the noisy, tiny space. Everyone screamed in fake terror, flinging their arms around each other and shrieking. Atsushi nearly jumped out of his skin when the noise hit his ears. Kunikida, collected as ever, rose to stand and calm everyone down.

Dazai didn't mind the boom, even expected it, looking at how gloomy the day was. He watched the windows near the ceiling of the building, black as night even if it was only one in the afternoon. He watched as the drops of rain fell and disappeared where the glass came to an end.

The volume in the small building steadily rose as kids stopped pretending to be scared and concern began to grow for the kids who's parents were out on their fishing boats, working for their next meal and, possibly, their lives. Dazai felt no pity for those who's worry rested on their parent's boats making it to shore before the storm became too violent. Dazai's only concern was whether or not the bell would ring and signal the start of another boring, uneventful class or an announcement would be made to signal their release from this hell hole.

"Brats." Kunikida growled. "They won't shut up and the storm's getting worse. If it were quieter, maybe then the principal could make an announcement and let us go."

"Maybe if we mentioned it, people would quiet down enough to listen?" Atsushi suggested as another loud clap echoed through the building, emphasizing Kunikida's observation.

"Even if they do, there's always a possibility that they won't make an announcement and expect the storm to settle down." Dazai said, humming quietly to himself.

Kunikida sighed in annoyance. "As much as I hate to admit it, Dazai's right. There's no way to tell if there's going to be an announcement but-"

"Students, this is an announcement regarding release times for today due to the oncoming storm." The speakers said as a flash of lightning streaked through the black sky, illuminating everyone in a haunting hue for a second before the soft glow of artificial light took hold again.

"Classes have been dismissed for today, everyone who's parents are out on the ocean, please contact your homes and send a parent or guardian to pick you up. The rest will stay in the Student Union until their parents arrive to pick you up. That is all for today. Stay safe and have a wonderful weekend!" After the last message, the students began scrambling around for their phones and packed up their belongings or making their way towards the Student Union.

"Well, never mind, then. There's your answer, Atsushi. I'll walk you to the Union until Akutagawa finds you and walks you home, ok?" Kunikida said, packing up his leftover lunch and stuffing it back inside his bag. Akutagawa was an old friend of Dazai's who seemed to follow him around ever since he befriended him. Once Dazai introduced him to Atsushi, though, they quickly developed a sort of rivalry friendship and made promise to walk each other home if only to make harmless challenges to entertain themselves. At least, that's what Dazai observed. If anything, they could have something going on with each other, the world may never know.

Once Kunikida was done packing his things, he lifted his bag up over his shoulders and proceeded to help Atsushi with his lunch. Dazai, who hadn't touched his food once, threw away his tray and waved goodbye to his friends.

He made his way against the crowd of teens to the back of the cafeteria and slipped out unnoticed. Even in the rain, he prefered to walk home than call and get picked up. Even a bus ride home seemed unattractive.

As Dazai made his way through the freezing pelts of water and past the side of a high cliff, he heard a simple note curl around the sharp whistle of air, climbing wildly up the scale then crashing down fast on a lower note. The sound was too alluring, too sweet to be a voice, but it still sounded eerily human. Dazai turned and took a step towards the edge of the cliff, but another rush of wind and the sudden taste of salt on his tongue brought him back to his senses and made him take three steps back.

He shook his head free of the sudden need to jump and fled, running the rest of the way back home, feeling his bag thump loudly against his back. It wasn't that he was afraid of death, his many attempts of suicide and casually bandage-wrapped arms and neck was the only proof of his fear, or lack-there-of, but the way he would die if he jumped off did not appeal to him. He'd either drown, which took way too long, or cracked his head open on a rock, and he didn't want a funeral in which people would only be able see the second half of his broken body.

Once he reached his house he nearly yanked the door off its hinges, but upon entering he immediately knew he wasn't alone. Panting and sweating, he attempted to take off his shoes as quietly as possible and leaving them at the front door, silently creeping across the living room and making his way slowly towards the stairs.

The house was small, much smaller on the inside than it looked on the outside. It had three rooms, one guest, one master, and one just big enough to fit two bunk beds and a desk. The master bedroom always had its door closed, a lock combination set and known only to the man who owned the damn place.

The guest bedroom had so much junk inside it that you could throw a piece of lint in and a stack of papers would fall straight on top of you. The bedroom with the bunk beds belonged to Dazai and the late Elise. Yumeno Kyusaku now replaced her and occupied her bed. When Dazai reached the top of the stairs, he found Yumeno sitting on the bottom bunk, playing with his terrifying doll.

Elise was only 10 years old when she died. Or, supposedly died. Mori had not once mentioned how she left this world, and Dazai could only feel envious of her for leaving him with such an insane man. When police officers told Mori and Dazai the news of Elise's death, Mori merely smiled and thanked them for informing him. He then proceeded to tighten his grip on Dazai's small hand, causing him to wince and pull away slightly. Of course, Mori noticed, and punished him harshly the night of.

But that was nearly 8 years ago.

"What are you thinking of, Dazai?" Yumeno asked, jolting Dazai back to reality.

"Nothing, Q" Dazai said, smiling. He had nicknamed the boy 'Q'. He didn't know when the name came to his mind, or when he started calling him that, but he knew Yumeno didn't mind being called that and only shrugged off his fruitless reply. He walked inside their small, shared room and placed his bag down at the foot of his bed, falling onto the chair next to it and rolling it towards the desk to do his homework.

"Do you want to know where Mori is?" Q asked. His face twisted into a smirk, showing his seemingly glowing white teeth and mismatched eyes. The dark room only illuminated his appearance, making the room glow with an unearthly tinge.

Silence filled the room, adding to the horrifying setting. Dazai stood rigid, keeping his eyes locked on to Q's, his face frozen in a fearful smile. A threat was clear in his eyes, but no other person would notice it besides Q and Mori. He had been trained from a very young age to not show emotion, that emotion would make you weak and get you killed. Dazai knew Q did not receive the same torturous lessons as Dazai had, but he was still just as demented and broken as Dazai was.

Just then, both boys turned their heads simultaneously towards the sound of the door from the master bedroom creaking open. Mori, in all his glory, step out with a red substance covering his white lab coat and a not-so-human gleam in his eye. He turned his head and looked at Q, who suddenly went pale with fear.

"Yumeno Kyusaku, would you mind coming in to learn your lesson for today?" Mori smiled, his face revealing nothing, void of expression.

Q, shivering slightly, hopped quietly off the bed and gazed at Dazai one last time before he was led soundlessly inside the room. He didn't emerge until the next day, eyes shining less with fear and more with murder.

~

That night, Dazai dreamed of a face he once knew.

"You know, we can get you out of there if you ask us to. My parents are letting me move out once I turn 18. You could move in with me. I could ask my uncle to give you a job and we could move outside this town. It isn't that hard, you know. A few phone calls and that would be it. We don't even have to tell anyone about it. It'll be safe."

Yes, safe.

That lie echoed in his head ever since the face and voice left him, still in the small, wretched town. Still living, breathing, and suffering.

But it wasn't the voice's fault he was left behind. The orphans he was taking care of died in a fire. He had left to find the cause and never came back. News of his disappearance was more than enough to tell Dazai that he had left without him and never turned back to send word of his actions.

For a while, Dazai believed he would come back one day and take him to the place he promised, but after 3 years of waiting, he stopped long before his 18th birthday.

"Dazai..."

He reached out for the hand that pulled back.

"Dazai...!"

He watched as his hope was slowly crushed beneath two pairs of tweezers and a doctor's mask.

"Dazai!"

Dazai snapped his eyes wide open and grabbed his knife from beneath his pillow, swiping around blindly before taking on a defensive stance against his attacker... who appeared to be Akutagawa.

Akutagawa had jumped away at the last second to avoid being slit in the neck for waking Dazai up so suddenly. Dazai, slowly adjusting to the scare, concentrated on slowing down his heart rate and turned his attention on the slightly frightened male in front of him.

As he quickly surveyed the room, Dazai noticed Q had not returned from Mori's room.

"Dazai, you have to see this. Now." Akutagawa whispered. Confused and curious, Dazai quickly slipped on a warm pair of clothes and followed the younger male down the stairs, careful to make the trip as soundless as possible before slipping on his shoes and sneaking outside.

Even in the early morning, the storm had not lifted one bit and the wind howled and shrieked in Dazai's ear. Once they were out, Akutagawa made a mad dash down to the beach nearby, forcing Dazai to pick up his pace and follow. Dazai had known Akutagawa long enough to know when something urgent was happening and trusted him enough to know that this was a serious situation.

"... body washed ashore. We haven't contacted the police yet because Ranpo wanted to solve it first, but so far, we've only been able to identify the gender and age. She looks about 13 years old, but we don't really know how she got there or how she died." Akutagawa was saying. The wind nearly swallowed his words whole. If Dazai had not been straining to hear his words, they would've been lost to the sky.

After about nearly half an hour of running down the shoreline along the beach in silence, Dazai smelled it before he saw it. The salty spray of ocean water was suddenly tainted by the stench of death and fish that left people gagging for air. Atsushi and Ranpo were already at the scene, pacing and looking for clues on how the body ended up washed up on the shore and how they died.

Once the two males arrived, Dazai noticed all 4 of them were huffing and out of breath, mist curling against their lips as the storm raged on around them.

"She seems to have drowned, but there's no water coming out of her mouth and she looks to be about an hour dead. What the hell happened?" Ranpo said, nearly screaming the words to be heard. He looked as if he was going to pull his hair out, as if nothing made sense about the situation. Dazai could only feel a sense of jealousy towards the dead girl and nothing more.

"Maybe hypothermia? Its freezing out here, Ranpo, and she's not exactly covered..." Atsushi suggested, turning his head away. A faint blush could be seen behind the many layers of scarves covering his face, but whether that be from the weather or the corpse, Dazai couldn't tell. Maybe it was both.

"If that were the case, why was she wondering out here like that? She couldn't have made it to the beach like this without anyone noticing or without any clothes on. It's way too far down the beach and away from any sort of house even if you ran here! This just doesn't add up!" Ranpo yelled.

"She could've been murdered somewhere else and dumped here to rot. But if what you're saying is true and someone should've noticed something suspicious going on, then that can't possibly be the explanation. Also, sorry Ranpo, but I called the police while we were running here. They should arrive in a bit." Akutagawa said, turning his attention to Atsushi to avoid Ranpo's accusing glare.

"God damnit, Akutagawa!" Ranpo yelled.

"Maybe the only thing keeping her going was her search for a suicide partner! Too bad I was asleep" Dazai said gloomily, finally speaking up.

"Dazai! No jokes at this time!" Atsushi yelled, the fear in his eyes evident and a small jump to his steps noticeable. "Ranpo, I swear I heard screaming! You have to trust me on this! That's why I woke you up in the first place!" He said wildly. There was a small hint of hesitation underlining his words, but it went unnoticed to everyone except Dazai.

"Atsushi, is there something else you're hiding? What else did you hear?" Dazai asked, his voice dark but curious. Atsushi went a few shades darker.

"Well, I-I thought I heard sing-"

Just then, the sound of sirens and streaks of red and blue flashed in the distance, catching each boy's attention and nearly making Astushi fall on his ass. A few minutes later, the boys were surrounded by police officers and questioned separately.

Dazai managed to sneak a few glances at Atsushi, but the smaller boy never made eye contact.

Soon after, they were all loaded onto a police cruiser and taken to a nearby station. The body was sent away to be identified, but in the mean time, each boy's homes were contacted and informed about their situation. Dazai was reluctant to call Mori at this time of day, but he didn't want to get in trouble with the law, so he phoned in, relieved that the call wasn't picked up but terrified of the consequences he would later face.

~

"I don't know where to start with this, but let's go with the basics. First off, how the hell did you kids get your asses out of the house this early in the morning without any of your parents or guardians noticing?" The officer questioned.

The boys had been dragged into a yellow, bland looking office. The place was barely big enough for all 4 boys to stand comfortably against the back wall not to mention the officer sitting down at his desk.

"Well, Officer..." Ranpo started, looking down at his tag for a name.

"Nigel" The officer answered.

"Nigel, right. Anyways, first of all, We're all within the ages ranging from 16 to 19. Second of all, I don't appreciated being called a kid. Third of all, me and Atsushi were both walking along the beach because I heard you can watch baby sea turtles hatch and make their way down the beach. We wanted to offer protection for them and study their patterns of behavior compared to those I observed in the Bahamas. Dazai and Akutagawa just suddenly decided to tag along when we texted him." Ranpo said confidently, a broad smile plastered on his face.

The officer looked like he wanted to smack his head against the wall.

"Ranpo, kid- er- yeah, whatever. Anyways, turtles don't come out this time of year, especially in this type of weather. And even if they did, why the hell would they be in Alaska?" Nigel questioned.

"Well, Leatherback turtles have been spotted around the area recently, I just wanted to know if they nested somewhere around here!" Ranpo replied enthusiastically.

"Ok kid, I get it," Nigel said, his voice taking on a mocking tone. "You don't want to be caught doing something else so you made an excuse. I get those a lot, trust me, but seriously. What were you doing?" The officer's voice morphed to take a on more serious edge to it, showing he meant business and wanted answers.

Like that would scare them. Or, most of them.

"Well, since you asked so nicely..." Atsushi squeaked, giving in to pressure. The poor soul, unable to handle being scolded at. "We were looking for mermaids."

The whole room went silent, aside from the droning of a heater and the occasional cough from Akutagawa. Things clicked into place and Dazai was able to pick out exactly why Atsushi had been a stuttering mess before.

Suddenly, the whole room filled with the sound of laughter. Officer Nigel looked like he was gonna burst from the abruptly hilarious situation.

"What?" Nigel finally asked between fits of laughter.

"Yea, Atsushi. What?" Ranpo said, narrowing his eyes at his half-brother. Obviously, they were keeping something from the officer, but Dazai, never one to be left in the dust, figured it out in an an instant.

Rumors spread quickly, and a lot of them surrounded and developed around stories of gorgeous sirens luring sailors to their deaths. Since the start of the last year and a half, world-record-breaking storms have been recorded, many sailors lost their lives to the sea. Some came back with half their minds intact, screaming and babbling on about voices sweeter than the most carefully crafted honey and faces prettier than angels who whispered sweet nothings to those who joined them in the gentle embrace of the ocean.

Most died within the year, all found drowned within their homes, on their boats, or out lost at sea. The ones who lived eventually found themselves trapped or thrown in mental institutions. None survived over 2 years.

"N-nothing!" Atsushi yelped, managing to hide his face behind Akutagawa and curling in on himself to make him seem smaller than Dazai thought possible.

"Mermaids? Really? Drugs, I'd believe. Hell, even trying to pick up chicks at this hour I'd believe, but mermaids? They're mythical creatures created by people insane enough to believe there's love within those ugly waters. Mermaids aren't real, end of story, and that would be one sad excuse for trying to bail yourselves out of jail if the time ever came to it. Now, if your first story was true, I guess I have nothing else to ask of you-" Just then, Nigel was interrupted by a sudden phone call.

"Excuse me." He said, picking up the phone. "Officer Nigel speaking, what's the update with the girl's identity?"

A few minutes passed, a couple confused glances were thrown towards the boys as the officer nodded and spoke quietly with the person on the other end of the line. When he finally put the phone down, his face shown with pure confusion.

"The girl you kids found? Yea, there's no one near her age who went missing, except one in 1923. Her name was Lucy Maud Montgomery, an orphan reported missing and never found. The orphanage she lived in was later taken down that year due to financial complications. She even looks like the girl you found. How the hell did she not rot? And how the hell did you guys end up finding her fully preserved and looking only 4 hours dead? How did she die if there was no water reported in her lungs and no visible injuries found?" The officer frowned in confusion, obviously trying to put together something that made sense.

"Maybe she just looked the same as Lucy? There's a possibility that people completely unrelated to each other can have the same looks!" Atsushi piped in, a sad expression written clearly on his face.

"That's true!" Akutagawa said, glancing at Atsushi, clearly trying to encourage him to keep talking. "There are plenty of people who look exactly the same but have never met before or even lived in the same time period."

Nigel looked unconvinced, but decided that the excuse was enough for him to get them out of his office.

"Well, whatever. This isn't a case for you kids to worry about or even think about, ok? Go home and forget this ever happened. We'll figure it out soon enough." Nigel decided, standing and rushing the boys out of the station.

Once they exited, Ranpo and Atsushi immediately found Yukichi Fukuzawa, their father, outside and waiting. Suddenly in a rush to go home, both boys waved goodbye to Dazai and Akutagawa and ran towards their car, rain pelting and wind lashing at their almost dried coats.

The storm had gotten worse, but Dazai suspected just as much.

Akutagawa's sister and friend, Gin and Ichiyou Higuchi, were soon found pulling up in a small Toyota. Akutagawa offered to take Dazai home, but the male refuse and watched as he said his goodbye's to Dazai and made his way towards the girls.

To Dazai's dismay, he found Q waiting for him in the rain when he tried to sneak his way around the station to go home, clearly soaked and shivering to death but present nonetheless. He followed Q to the parked car behind the police station and got in next to him in the back quietly, not daring to breathe as the car started and Mori drove off back to the house.

He watched, tensed, with disinterest as trees zipped past his vision, trying to ignore the gnawing thought that today's punishment may be his last.

Halfway through the drive, Mori suddenly pulled over near the cliff Dazai had crossed earlier in the week and stopped the car. Once a few minutes of silence had passed, Mori finally spoke.

"Anything to say about this, Dazai?" He asked, his voice empty of any emotion, face turned upward to watch the sky churn and reshape itself into a deadlier storm.

When Dazai didn't answer, Mori got out of the car and walked slowly towards his side of the car, stopping only in front of the door, not opening it. As much as Dazai wanted to scramble out the other way and run for safety, he knew that Mori had purposefully parked the vehicle dangerously close to the edge. No sane person would dare try and open the door on the other side. He would either fall to his death or face Mori's punishment here and now.

As Dazai stayed silent and listened to the rain fall hard on the car's rooftop, he heard another, underlining sound. One too soft to notice without trying but present nonetheless, almost like a ticking time bomb. The sound hissed and flared randomly, then came to a sudden stop as if the rain had drowned out its presence. Dazai's eyes widened and he rushed to yank the door on his right side open, literally throwing Q out before the car abruptly burst into flames.

Heat engulfed his entire body, he felt the fire lick up around his skin and sink its red hot teeth through the many layers of clothes and bandages he wore. The unexpected rush of light that entered his vision blinded him as he screamed in terror and pain. He didn't even feel the impact as he hit the ground a few feet away from the car.

Shards of glass and metal sunk into his legs and arms as he tried to drag himself away from the fire. A small, jagged piece of glass cut the side of his face as the debris settled down around him. He vaguely noticed that Mori had left his side of the car before the initial blast that sent him sprawling and writhing in pain on the ground.

"Hmm, I guess it didn't work this time, now did it?" Dazai heard Mori say. "I was positive the calculations were right. The last time was a sure success, but I never got to see the results. Damnit." Mori muttered, shoving accusing glares at the near-dead Dazai, who was hanging on to every word he said, trying to ignore the pain and make sense of anything and everything that was going on.

"Well, no matter. If this didn't work, despite all the careful punishments I'd laid out, then Q will be next. Come now, we're going home. I'll call someone to clean this up later. Ta-ta, Dazai."

Dazai watched in horror Mori's figure turn and grasp Q's small hand, tugging and urging him to follow. 

He tried to lift his hand up and reach for something to grasp on, call out to the man that had taken poor care of him ever since he was put up for adoption. But his voice had left him and his strength had been sapped away along with the adrenaline that no longer pumped through his veins.

It felt like hours had passed before he could no longer make out the silhouette of the one person he'd known from the very start of his life. That was when the cold began to seep in.

It felt like nothing Dazai had ever felt before in his life. Even when Mori had shoved him into a cooler barely large enough to hold a baby in it for a couple hours, he'd never felt so numb. It stretched around his arms and legs. Seeped into his bones and skin and muscles and dragged itself slowly across his mind. Finally, it enveloped his heart and Dazai felt free. He watched the sky glow from above and felt himself reform and sink into the grass. He knew, in that moment, that he had no shape, no form that could hold his conscious. Not yet. His every thought was free and wild and open. He had a sense that even if he no longer possessed a voice, the night would hear him nonetheless. At least, if this was death, he'd die over and over again just to feel this type of freedom.

But in that split second, he knew that he had a choice to go back, unscathed by the fire and metal but still a scared, deeply scarred human being. Atsushi would miss him terribly. Kunikida and Ranpo would surely investigate what had happened to him. Akutagawa would probably go into shock when he heard the news. But then Dazai remembered all the terrifying nights he'd stayed awake through, dreading the time when the door to his shared bedroom would slowly open and reveal the monster behind it.

'No,' Dazai thought. 'NO'

He wouldn't go back. Not ever. And with that thought, he felt himself fall. Plunge into the sea that waited with open arms for him to join. And in that moment, he was reborn anew.

~

The fall felt like it had lasted an eternity. Then, Dazai noticed shapes and flashes of light passed by him faster than any car could go. He watched as something red tried to keep up with the speed, but after a couple seconds, it darted away after being left behind a couple times. He vaguely thought that if he was still able to see and feel, he was still somehow alive. But that made no sense, did it? No one could've survived a fall like that, not after all that had happened before.

He felt something shake it's head and got rid of the thought before it tried occupying his mind.

Soon, he found that he could make the speed move. He shifted left and right, feeling himself twirl and dive and spin and leap. Each movement was more graceful than anything he'd ever experienced in his life. He felt a kind of happiness swell up inside his chest. It seemed to grow so large that he was sure it was going to burst.

That was when he heard the music, or, at least, that was the closest thing to describe it. It was soft and delicate at first, rising high and low and circling everywhere along with the passing lights. It slowly grew in volume once it felt brave enough to do so. It was alive and free and open, spilling out thoughts and promises of a new world. One where everyone was forgiven for their mistakes and given a second chance at life.

And then he saw people. Staring and pointing and looking at him. He didn't like being pointed at. Unless someone wanted to propose to do a double suicide with him, he had no interest in the boys and girls that began to crowd the side of the boat. Their stares took on an almost peaceful look once the song reached their ears. The music swelled with the movement of those on deck. Dazai barely registered the boats' fast approach before diving down fast, narrowly missing the falling debris that came crashing down.

Then, it was raining bodies. At first, it was only one or two that fell down, still entranced by the beautiful music that was slowly fading away. Then, a dozen more followed them. Some were stone-cold shocked by the water and tried swimming their way up to the surface again. Some were confused and choking on their own air supply, but didn't lift a finger to attempt the swim up. Others looked peaceful and happy to be in the water. Dazai watched as more bodies snapped out of their dream-like state and tried swimming for shore as the music began to fade.

How long had it been since he'd last taken a breath? He realized now that he was still alive, but didn't understand why he hadn't gone up for air in such a long time. He was no athlete, but he was sure that even the most trained professionals couldn't handle being underwater for this long.

The music came back again, this time, in several different directions. All were singing the same song he'd heard before it faded. All sounded rich and inviting and utterly inhuman. Quick curving shapes started to appear, darting around among the swimmers. Dazai suddenly understood that all of them were singing. Their voices perfectly in tune, and a deep desire to sing along with them crashed into Dazai's mind. He felt his own chest open up and felt the music leak from his mouth. He watched as all the desperate swimmers began to settle down as if the ocean were their own lovely beds at home.

Dazai must've gone down deeper than he'd realized, because he began to feel the water start to constrict itself around him. Hundreds of tons of slippery weight pushed down above his head and no way to get back up to the surface. He knew now that he did need to breathe and that he would drown if he didn't get back up. Even with that thought in mind, he couldn't find it in himself to move and swim back to the surface again. It seemed like way too much work, and he felt exhausted from the events that had just taken place.

Suddenly, a dark streak flew past him, hooked its arm around his thin waist, and with a flick of its powerful... something, they both began to ascend. Everything was moving so quickly that Dazai was barely able to register what was happening. He turned his head up towards the thing that held on tight to him and tried to tell it that he desperately needed air. As Dazai began to notice how fast they were going and how much he didn't know about the thing pulling him up, a sudden feral need to claw away from the being that held him clouded his mind. But before he could do any damage, the water above his head parted all around him and he gasped and choked on the sweet scent of salty air. He looked around frantically and stopped to lay his eyes on what must have been the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen in his life.

"WHAT. THE. HELL. WERE. YOU. THINKING????" She screamed, anger evident in her lovely voice. Her short, purple-black hair bouncing around her perfectly shaped and absolutely stunning face, her eyes steely and cold with a look that either screamed 'idiot' or 'murder'.

"I uh-I was just uh-I mean-!" Dazai stuttered, clearly thrown off by both being yelled at by a pretty lady and the odd encounter.

"Look, I don't know nor do I care if you were a king in your past tribe, but this is our territory! You can't just barge in here and sing to the nearest ship to ease your pain of being kicked out or lost! We could barely take that huge thing down on our own without you forcing us to! You're so fucking lucky you sang so well or else I would've ripped out your guts and thrown it to the nearest orca within a 15 mile radius!" The woman snarled. Dazai noticed she was so angry she trembled, and with every shake her lovely hair shined and gleamed all the colors of the rainbow.

Dazai was too shocked to speak, merely gapping at her in confusion as he noticed other faces bobbing up to see what the ruckus was about. It seemed like the crazy lady thought that he had done something to sink that ship, but that was insane! He can't even run a mile under ten minutes, much less drown innocent people on a boat 10,000 times bigger than him!

"Look, lady-" Dazai started.

"That's Yosano, to you. Dare call me a lady again and I'll snap your fingers in two, and that's just the beginning." She huffed, still furious, deep violet eyes boring holes into Dazai's chocolate brown ones.

"Ok, Yosano. Look, you've got this all messed up, I didn't sink that ship. If I had the ability to do that, I would've been able to drown my adoptive father. But I don't so, I'm not the guy you're looking for." Dazai said, carefully raising his arms in defeat and silently praying to the lord almighty that she was rational enough to see that he meant no harm.

"Wait, you what? You mean you didn't know?" She said, suddenly much calmer than before.

"Know what? And also, why are we not freezing to death? We're still in Alaska, right? Shouldn't we need wet-suits to stand these temperatures?" Dazai observed. Looking around, most of the faces that he noticed popping up were staring back at him, amused. Almost all of them were children ranging from the ages 5 to late teens. The oldest here looked about 18 or 19.

When he turned to look at Yosano again, she was the one who was gapping at him this time.

"Yosano," A new voice called. Dazai thought it sounded extremely familiar, but he wouldn't let himself get his hopes up until he saw with his own two eyes what was real and what wasn't.

"Don't worry about this, I'll take care of the metaskaza." It said. The similarity almost made Dazai pass out. He was suddenly dizzy with shock, all the blood drained from his face as he tried and failed to turn and look at the newcomer.

"But," Yosano started, turning her attention away from Dazai and on to something behind him. "he almost broke the timahk! He needs a good pounding to the damned head first if you're thinking of letting him into the tribe!"

"Don't worry, he's nothing I can't handle. And besides, he's new to this, give him time and space and he'll adjust." The voice said. Oh how Dazai wished with all his might that the voice belonged to the person he once knew. Dazai took a deep breath, gathering all his courage into one big smile and turned, expecting to see something, or rather, someone else.

"Dazai, welcome to the tribe. I'm sure you've had a long night, so why don't we head back to the cave so we can talk and catch up for a bit, eh?" Odasaku said, smiling warmly at the other.

"Oda...saku?" Was Dazai's only reply.

**Author's Note:**

> AHH THE HORROR! A CLIFF HANGER!
> 
> Eek, I'm so sorry to do this to all you readers! I hope I have enough motivation to write more chapters just as long as this one! T-T
> 
> Ok, so first of all, some of you may be wondering what a metaskaza and timahk is right?
> 
> Welp a metaskaza is a newly transformed mermaid, or, in our case, merman.
> 
> The timahk is a few rules the merpeople live by. Or, at least, in our story. These were taken out directly from the book, Lost Voices by Sarah Porter (please read it if you haven't, it's an amazing story! I love it with all my heart >.<) so kudos to her and her amazing books!
> 
> Anyways, ahh, I'm so sorry for so much OC. My writing style is quite awful and I'm trying to get the hang of it. I'll try and clean things up later as we move along through this story! Chuuya will be introduced hopefully in chapter 3, but I'm not sure.
> 
> I'm aiming to give this fic a good 10-15 chapters but that depends on whether or not I'm motivated to make such long chapters or any chapters at all T-T
> 
> Anyways, please point out any mistakes I may have made! I also want a bit of feedback to if you could, please leave a comment!
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3


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